LAWRENCE – An Alabama man accused of killing an 11-year-old girl in Lawrence in 1988 has been found not guilty after a retrial.
Marvin McClendon was arrested at his Alabama home in 2022 and charged in connection with the death of Melissa Ann Tremblay. He was held without bail after his arrest. Prosecutors said McClendon was linked to her murder through her DNA evidence.
A jury found not guilty Tuesday afternoon in Essex Superior Court. Jurors deliberated for more than a week in the second trial.
DA ‘disappointed with verdict’
“While we were disappointed with the verdict, the efforts of our prosecutors and law enforcement in this case were extraordinary,” said Essex County District Attorney Paul F. Tucker. “I recognize the work and dedication of the jury during their long deliberations in this case. My thoughts are with the family of Melissa Ann Tremblay, who has suffered immensely from the crime that took her life.”
In 2022, former Essex District Attorney Jonathan Blodgett said McClendon had been a person of interest in the case “for some time.”
In the first trial last December, a judge spoke declared a mistrial due to a deadlocked jury.
Murder of Melissa Tremblay in 1988
Tremblay, who lived in Salem, New Hampshire, was with her mother and mother’s boyfriend at a social club in Lawrence shortly before she was killed. She left the club to play in nearby neighborhoods and was later found stabbed to death in a freight yard off Andover Street on September 12, 1988.
McClendon is a retired officer of the Massachusetts Department of Corrections and was doing carpentry work at the time of the killing.
